Re: Tours to "The Tour" - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

08-10-2003, 07:49 PM

> Does anyone have any good info and experience with travel companies that
> sponsor trips to France to see the Tour de France? I'm interested in
going
> and want to hook up with a good company/group. Please advise.

[This guy's looking for info I've been thinking about digging up for our
website anyway, so here's what I've run down this afternoon. Also, if
anybody has any experiences with any of these groups, please post in this
thread or via email to me ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) so I can put the info
together for an informational page on our website.]

As you're probably aware (and the reason you're posting now instead of
later), France is going to be overrun by US folk in 2004, and tours are
going to be fully booked before they're even announced (meaning that people
are going to find ways to reserve spots on tours they don't even know the
dates of, locations, etc).

I just did a quick search and found a site that has some info, subject to
change, on how they think things are going to run (and their available tours
and costs) for '04-

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

But I have no idea how good they are. I just got back from a 12-day
Pyrenees to Paris tour with the Graham Baxter group
([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Very reasonably
priced, got to see a lot, but it's possibly not the best for someone who's
never been to France before and might want a bit more hand-holding than they
offer.

TREKTravel got rave reviews from everyone I came across who was on a TDF
tour with them (we're a very large TREK dealer and have a lot of customers
interested in what they have to offer, so it made since to find out
everything I could), but they're basically oversold for '04 already, and
have told dealers to work on getting people interested in their other trips.

Backroads generally gets high marks from our customers; info on their TDF
packages may be found at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Breaking Away is another popular, high-quality organization, with info on
their '03 offerings (which will give some insight for '04) found at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Butterfield & Robinson defines the high-end of cycle touring... $6k for
their July 20-28th trip for the '03 TDF, to give you an idea. More info at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
csid1=1998&fid1=16

Bicycle Outfitters, a shop not too far from our own in the SF Bay Area, runs
tours in France, with info on their past '03 offering at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Reasonably priced and
good people.

VeloVacations (also known as VeloSport Vacations) is a group I've come
across frequently in my travels in France, and I found people generally
pretty happy with them. Their past '03 offerings may be found at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Steve Bauer, former TDF racer, has another high-end touring company, with
info on their past '03 offerings at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Velo Echappe looks interesting (they emphasize having big-name cycling
greats helping out, including Sean Kelly... wonder if his English is easier
to understand in person than on TV?), but I don't know anyone personally
who's been on one of their tours; info on their past '03 offerings is at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Former USPS rider Marty Jemison has his own tour company, and briefly
touches on their 2004 plans at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Inside Track Tours is another one that I'm not familiar with, but there's
info on their 2004 TDF plans at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. They do have an added bonus
of having Tyler Hamilton, 4th place in this year's TDF and found in the
dictionary when you look up "Tough as nails", as a general partner. For
many this may be an added plus, as there could be an assumed benefit of
being able to at least get an autograph from a real TDF contender!

Cycling Ahead runs trips during the TDF, but I know nothing about them and
am a little put off by a website that doesn't list prices; you have to fill
out a form on their website and they'll get back to you. Info at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

VeloVista is a general-purpose cycle touring site, with a great deal of
useful information, including info on the '03 TDF at this page-
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Bikestyle Tours, an Australian touring company, has info on their '04 TDF
plans here- [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (this is another one
I have no references on)

Adventure Travel is another Australian touring company, this one with Phil
Anderson, former TDF great, riding along. Their info on TDF trips is at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. I don't know of anyone who's
done one of their tours, but Phil's wife, Christine, speaks glowingly of her
husbands ability to entertain and take care of their guests (I met her in
Lourdes at the '03 TDF; details on my diary page at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ])

================================================== ==================

If anybody know of other tours not listed, please reply to this thread or
directly to me via email ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]).

One other thing I should add... if you really want to get into the TDF
action itself, it may not be practical to be cycling every single day.
Conversely, if you want to really get into cycling in France, it may not be
practical to see that much of the TDF! You'll most likely run yourself into
the ground, and possibly disappoint yourself because things didn't work out
quite as planned. The best way to have a really enjoyable experience is to
be flexible and recognize that your original plans might need to be altered
a bit, and try to decide ahead of time if you want to do everything, in
which case you'll probably need a vacation from your vacation when you get
back (personal experience talking here!).

Thanks!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-11-2003, 02:30 PM

Mike wrote:
> > Does anyone have any good info and experience with travel companies that
> > sponsor trips to France to see the Tour de France? I'm interested in
> > going and want to hook up with a good company/group. Please advise.

> [This guy's looking for info I've been thinking about digging up for our
> website anyway, so here's what I've run down this afternoon. Also, if
> anybody has any experiences with any of these groups, please post in this
> thread or via email to me ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) so I can put the info
> together for an informational page on our website.]

Mike, you da man!
I wonder if any local entrepreneurs (like a bike club or hostelling
group) puts something together for members and friends, kindof like
joining an Iowa bike club for a week in July. I might look for such.
What to wear to the TdF (found while checking spelling on a certain
major street in Paris):
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--Karen M.
who had loads of good apres conversations at a tour tour this
weekend...everyone in celeste knew the name Jan Ullrich

08-11-2003, 05:33 PM

Karen: I've cleaned things up a bit and put the TDF Tour operators up on a
page on our website. You can see it at
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Regarding the best "deals" for France, if you wanted to piece together
something of your own, you can check out the offerings on [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].
My wife and I used them for our trip to Paris last September, and it worked
out great... very inexpensive, not bad place to stay.

--Mike--
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

"Karen M." <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:4bfcf85b.0308111330.6d57e5c7@posting.google.c om...
> Mike wrote:
> > > Does anyone have any good info and experience with travel companies
that
> > > sponsor trips to France to see the Tour de France? I'm interested in
> > > going and want to hook up with a good company/group. Please advise.
>
> > [This guy's looking for info I've been thinking about digging up for our
> > website anyway, so here's what I've run down this afternoon. Also, if
> > anybody has any experiences with any of these groups, please post in
this
> > thread or via email to me ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) so I can put the
info
> > together for an informational page on our website.]
>
> Mike, you da man!
> I wonder if any local entrepreneurs (like a bike club or hostelling
> group) puts something together for members and friends, kindof like
> joining an Iowa bike club for a week in July. I might look for such.
> What to wear to the TdF (found while checking spelling on a certain
> major street in Paris):
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> --Karen M.
> who had loads of good apres conversations at a tour tour this
> weekend...everyone in celeste knew the name Jan Ullrich

08-11-2003, 09:28 PM

Mike,

Your the best! Thanks for the info! If anyone out there ever needs a Trek,
go see Mike...I bought one from him, parked it under a Semi, and then bought
another.

Stan (Not my real name, Mike, but you probably remember me...living in San
Diego now!)

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:evDZa.165$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy. com...
> > Does anyone have any good info and experience with travel companies that
> > sponsor trips to France to see the Tour de France? I'm interested in
> going
> > and want to hook up with a good company/group. Please advise.
>
> [This guy's looking for info I've been thinking about digging up for our
> website anyway, so here's what I've run down this afternoon. Also, if
> anybody has any experiences with any of these groups, please post in this
> thread or via email to me ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) so I can put the info
> together for an informational page on our website.]
>
> As you're probably aware (and the reason you're posting now instead of
> later), France is going to be overrun by US folk in 2004, and tours are
> going to be fully booked before they're even announced (meaning that
people
> are going to find ways to reserve spots on tours they don't even know the
> dates of, locations, etc).
>
> I just did a quick search and found a site that has some info, subject to
> change, on how they think things are going to run (and their available
tours
> and costs) for '04-
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> But I have no idea how good they are. I just got back from a 12-day
> Pyrenees to Paris tour with the Graham Baxter group
> ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Very reasonably
> priced, got to see a lot, but it's possibly not the best for someone who's
> never been to France before and might want a bit more hand-holding than
they
> offer.
>
> TREKTravel got rave reviews from everyone I came across who was on a TDF
> tour with them (we're a very large TREK dealer and have a lot of customers
> interested in what they have to offer, so it made since to find out
> everything I could), but they're basically oversold for '04 already, and
> have told dealers to work on getting people interested in their other
trips.
>
> Backroads generally gets high marks from our customers; info on their TDF
> packages may be found at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Breaking Away is another popular, high-quality organization, with info on
> their '03 offerings (which will give some insight for '04) found at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Butterfield & Robinson defines the high-end of cycle touring... $6k for
> their July 20-28th trip for the '03 TDF, to give you an idea. More info
at
>
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> csid1=1998&fid1=16
>
> Bicycle Outfitters, a shop not too far from our own in the SF Bay Area,
runs
> tours in France, with info on their past '03 offering at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Reasonably priced
and
> good people.
>
> VeloVacations (also known as VeloSport Vacations) is a group I've come
> across frequently in my travels in France, and I found people generally
> pretty happy with them. Their past '03 offerings may be found at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Steve Bauer, former TDF racer, has another high-end touring company, with
> info on their past '03 offerings at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Velo Echappe looks interesting (they emphasize having big-name cycling
> greats helping out, including Sean Kelly... wonder if his English is
easier
> to understand in person than on TV?), but I don't know anyone personally
> who's been on one of their tours; info on their past '03 offerings is at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Former USPS rider Marty Jemison has his own tour company, and briefly
> touches on their 2004 plans at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Inside Track Tours is another one that I'm not familiar with, but there's
> info on their 2004 TDF plans at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. They do have an added bonus
> of having Tyler Hamilton, 4th place in this year's TDF and found in the
> dictionary when you look up "Tough as nails", as a general partner. For
> many this may be an added plus, as there could be an assumed benefit of
> being able to at least get an autograph from a real TDF contender!
>
> Cycling Ahead runs trips during the TDF, but I know nothing about them and
> am a little put off by a website that doesn't list prices; you have to
fill
> out a form on their website and they'll get back to you. Info at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> VeloVista is a general-purpose cycle touring site, with a great deal of
> useful information, including info on the '03 TDF at this page-
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Bikestyle Tours, an Australian touring company, has info on their '04 TDF
> plans here- [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (this is another
one
> I have no references on)
>
> Adventure Travel is another Australian touring company, this one with Phil
> Anderson, former TDF great, riding along. Their info on TDF trips is at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. I don't know of anyone who's
> done one of their tours, but Phil's wife, Christine, speaks glowingly of
her
> husbands ability to entertain and take care of their guests (I met her in
> Lourdes at the '03 TDF; details on my diary page at
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ])
>
> ================================================== ==================
>
> If anybody know of other tours not listed, please reply to this thread or
> directly to me via email ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]).
>
> One other thing I should add... if you really want to get into the TDF
> action itself, it may not be practical to be cycling every single day.
> Conversely, if you want to really get into cycling in France, it may not
be
> practical to see that much of the TDF! You'll most likely run yourself
into
> the ground, and possibly disappoint yourself because things didn't work
out
> quite as planned. The best way to have a really enjoyable experience is
to
> be flexible and recognize that your original plans might need to be
altered
> a bit, and try to decide ahead of time if you want to do everything, in
> which case you'll probably need a vacation from your vacation when you get
> back (personal experience talking here!).
>
> Thanks!
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
>